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The big news for Ford‘s biggest sedan is that it’s getting the smallest engine in the Taurus nameplate’s history. Since the car’s introduction at last year’s New York auto show, we’ve been looking forward to this development with a good deal of trepidation, given our less than warm reception of this same turbocharged 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine in the Taurus’ tall-wagon stablemate the Explorer. In that quasi-truck we found the price of its promised fuel economy boost, in dollars ($995 — same as on Taurus) and lost performance, to be way out of proportion with its real-world fuel savings. It seemed every bit as dull-witted in its general responsiveness as its 9.2-second 0-60-mph acceleration suggests.

But the lower-profile Taurus sedan’s EcoBoost packs the exact same 240 hp and 270 lb-ft, while lugging around about 500 fewer pounds of vehicle. That gives it a better weight-to-power ratio than its predecessor, the Five Hundred, with a 3.0-liter V-6, so maybe things will be just fine. And in any case, if global warming or gas prices are not your chief purchase motivations, there’s promising news for 2013 on the base Taurus V-6. By adding variable cam timing to the exhaust cams and making a few other tweaks, power is up 25 to 288 horses while peak torque increases by 5 lb-ft to 254.

Inside there are new seat cushions, more soft-touch surfacing, new switchgear, and a heated steering wheel option.

We’ve come to Portland, Oregon to take our first spin in these new Tauri. But before we climb behind the wheel, let’s recap the rest of the car’s newness as divulged last April. Other efficiency-boosting technologies employed across the board include new active grille shutters to reduce aero drag at speed, smart alternator charging, aggressive fuel shutoff during deceleration, a variable-displacement air conditioning compressor, a low-tension accessory-drive system, and even dot-nozzle clutch actuation in the transmission. (“Dot-nozzle,” you ask? The hydraulic fluid that actuates the clutches for shifting flows through a bunch of tiny holes instead of a few big ones to greatly reduce losses.) Then there’s electric power steering. It’s not brand-new, but it is greatly improved, with rigid mounting of the steering rack to the subframe and a faster steering ratio to improve feel. A much-overdue enhancement arrives in the braking department, too, where the master cylinder is enlarged, the power booster retuned, and new friction material employed at the corners. Speaking of the brakes, they’re now being tapped to provide a poor-man’s torque-vectoring by lightly squeezing an inside wheel while accelerating through a corner so as to reroute torque to the outboard wheel.

A lavish list of options includes the wholly revamped MyFord Touch system, an available Sony Audio System and HD Radio, adaptive cruise control with forward collision alert, and Active Park Assist (borrowed from Lincoln‘s sistership MKS). And you’ll enjoy these amenities in greater silence, thanks to new baffles in the A-pillars, acoustic liners around the rear wheel housings and shock towers, and improved hood and dash insulators.

Enough preamble — it’s time to hit the road. Point me to your EcoBoost four-banger, please! What? Whaddya mean there are no fours here in Portland? All the press materials you sent out in advance included the four, which — let’s face it — is the big news, right? [Mumbled excuses.] I grumpily climb aboard the 3.5-liter AWD model and head into the snowy hills. (It’s 65 and sunny in Detroit today — remind me why we’re here?) On patches of merely damp pavement I crack open the throttle, and the car accelerates at least as smartly as would a 2012 front-driver on dry pavement. Brake pedal feel is considerably better — no marshmallow sponginess and a bit less travel required to get the job done. Similarly, the revised steering feels better connected to the tires, though not quite as much so as the SHO’s helm, which shares its 15:1 ratio.

Priced at $27,395 to start ($1045 up from 2012), the base V-6 Taurus still seems like a lot of car for the money, and its 29-mpg highway rating bests rival Toyota Avalon by 1 mpg. We’re prepared to love the 2.0-liter EcoBoost if it can hit 60 mph in the very low eights without sounding like a team of hamsters is overexerting, and if its projected 31-mpg highway economy proves achievable in real life. But unfortunately we won’t know any of that for another month. Keep it tuned right here.

Safety (IIHS)

2013 Ford Taurus News and Reviews

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